Nautilus

Edward Weston

1927 · Gelatin silver print · Photographs

Like their painter counterparts, many photographers experimented with abstraction in the 1920s and 1930s, exploring relations of form, tonality, and space. Here, Weston isolates a nautilus shell against a solid black ground, creating a study of curves, subtle shadows, and contrasts between light and dark. As in many of his close-ups of natural forms, the nautilus appears both recognizable and yet strangely unfamiliar. Unlike the rigorously nonrepresentational compositions of photographers like László Moholy-Nagy, Weston’s abstractions always remained grounded in objects from the real world; as he wrote in 1930, "To see the Thing Itself is essential."

Artist

Edward Weston

Date

1927

Medium

Gelatin silver print

Department

Photographs

Credit line

Gilman Collection, Purchase, Jennifer and Joseph Duke Gift, 2005